Best Standard Team for Ranked Battle

This is a strategy guide and complete explanation of a Standard Team for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for the rental code and tips on how to use this team effectively in competitive play, recommended movesets and best builds, and strategies and synergies for each Pokemon.

Team Summary and Rental Code

Standard Zacian Kyogre Team
Kyogre	Seismitoad	Zacian
Grimmsnarl	Zapdos	Incineroar
Battle Season	Ranked Battle Series 12
Rental Code	0000 0001 XRRC 3M

How to Use the Team Effectively

Playing patiently and conservatively and then going on the offensive at an opportune moment can often spell success for this team. Stalling out an opponent's Dynamax and making sure they get minimal value out of their Dynamax turns will help the team get the upper hand later in the game and help you eventually win it.

Team Movesets & Best Builds

Assault Vest Kyogre

Kyogre - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Kyogre
Nature	Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
EV Spread	HP 204 / Def 44 / Sp. Atk 100 / Sp. Def 4 / Spe 130
Final Stat Values	HP 201 / Def 116 / Sp. Atk 201 / Sp. Def 161 / Spe 130
Ability	Drizzle
Held Item	Assault Vest
Moveset	・Water Spout ・Origin Pulse ・Thunder ・Ice Beam

Kyogre is one of the team's restricted Pokemon who is best placed at the back of the team, only entering battle late into the match or for activating Seismitoad's Swift Swim for cheeky early knock outs.

About Kyogre's Moves

It has access to powerful spread moves in Water Spout and Origin Pulse, with the former relying on Kyogre's HP and the latter being another powerful yet inaccurate option. Thunder and Ice Beam are Kyogre's most potent coverage moves.

About Kyogre's EV Spread

204 HP EV's and 44 Defense EV's gives Kyogre enough bulk to get 2HKO'd by prevalent super-effective Grass-type physical moves like Rillaboom's Grassy Glide or Kartana's Max Overgrowth, although Reflect from Grimmsnarl or Dynamaxing Kyogre can assure Kyogre's survival.

100 Special Attack EV's still lets Kyogre let out powerful Water Spouts. However its coverage moves may lack firepower and will 2HKO or even 3HKO opposing Kyogre or Venusaur.

4 Special Defense EV's in conjunction with Assault Vest lets Kyogre survive powerful super-effective special attacks.
With Kyogre's Speed investment, giving it +1 Speed from a teammate's Max Airstream puts it at 195 Speed. This allows Kyogre to outspeed Pokemon with Base 125 Speed or lower.

About Kyogre's Ability

Drizzle is Kyogre's only Ability and sets up Rain Dance for 5 turns.

About Kyogre's Held Item

Running Assault Vest on Kyogre means we free up a space in its move slots which previously might have held Protect in favor of coverage moves. It allows Kyogre to survive super-effective hits from powerful Electric-type Pokemon like Regieleki, although Light Screen from Grimmsnarl or Dynamaxing Kyogre can certainly improve its odds of surviving.

Swift Swim Seismitoad

Seismitoad - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Seismitoad
Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 181 / Atk 161 / Def 95 / Sp. Def 95 / Spe 126 (252 in Rain)
Ability	Swift Swim
Held Item	Life Orb
Moveset	・Liquidation ・Stomping Tantrum ・Power Whip ・Bounce

Seismitoad can often sweep unopposed if an opponent does not have any Grass-types to threaten it. Its goal when Dynamaxed is to take 2-3 KO's in 3 turns. Be wary of Protects, switches or redirection because we must get value out of our Dynamax turns.

About Seismitoad's Moves

Liquidation is Seismitoad's main STAB move, dealing huge damage with no setbacks. It is made even more powerful if used in Rain or if used as Max Geyser during Dynamax.
Stomping Tantrum is Seismitoad's second STAB move, being chosen over Earthquake because the team mostly does not have any Ground immunity.

Power Whip is for coverage against opposing Kyogre or Gastrodon.

Bounce works as evasion if used by itself. But if used as Max Airstream, it gives Seismitoad and its teammates a boost to their speed.

About Seismitoad's EV Spread

Seismitoad' EVs for this build are the standard boosts to Attack and Speed to make it hit as hard and as fast as possible. The rest is allotted to HP to give it a bit of a bulk.

About Seismitoad's Ability

Swift Swim doubles Seismitoad's Speed during Rain. This lets Seismitoad outspeed every Pokemon except Regieleki or other fast Pokemon under Tailwind. Seismitoad may also be outsped by other Swift Swim users in rain such as Kingdra.

About Seismitoad's Held Item

Life Orb gives Seismitoad a boost to its offensive stat at the cost of losing some HP.

Bulky Zacian

Zacian - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Zacian
Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Atk 76 / Def 4 / Sp. Def 36 / Spe 140
Final Stat Values	HP 199 / Atk 220 / Def 136 / Sp. Def 140 / Spe 186
Ability	Intrepid Sword
Held Item	Rusted Sword
Moveset	・Behemoth Blade ・Play Rough ・Substitute ・Protect

Zacian is one of the most powerful physical attackers in the game and is an oppresive force in competitive battle that pushed the metagame into its current state of hyper offense.

About Zacian's Moves

Behemoth Blade is an all around great attack, whether it's attacking into opposing Dynamaxed Pokemon for 200 base damage, or just attacking into regular un-Dynamaxed Pokemon. This move can usually score knock outs, or put opposing Pokemon into 2HKO range at worst.

Play Rough is Zacian's secondary STAB move, being able to inflict huge damage into common threats like Palkia or Yveltal.

Substitute works hand-in-hand with Protect as moves that can stall out Dynamax turns.

About Zacian's EV Spread

76 Attack EV's and an Adamant Nature allows Zacian to still be an offensive powerhouse, while freeing up EV's for bulk and speed. This investment allows Zacian to 2HKO most Groudon builds, as well as Kyogre or Palkia with minimum defensive EV investments.

140 Speed EV's allow Zacian to outspeed Pokemon with base 116 or slower. These are Pokemon like Timid Whimsicott or Tornadus outside of Tailwind.

Maximizing HP with 4 EV's each to Defense and Special Defense give Zacian enough bulk to get 2HKO'd by attacks like Precipice Blades from Groudon or Water Spout from Kyogre.

About Zacian's Ability

Intrepid Sword is Zacian's only Ability, which boosts its Attack by 1 stage upon entering the battle.

About Zacian's Held Item

Zacian's best held item is the Rusted Sword since this is what transforms it into its Crowned Sword form. This item also turns Iron Head into Behemoth Blade.

Dual Screens Grimmsnarl

Grimmsnarl - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Grimmsnarl
Nature	Impish (+Spe, -SpAtk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Def 252 / Sp. Def 4
Final Stat Values	HP 202 / Atk 140 / Def 128 / Sp. Def 96 / Spe 80
Ability	Prankster
Held Item	Light Clay
Moveset	・Spirit Break ・Light Screen ・Reflect ・Scary Face

Bulky Grimmsnarl's Dual Screens helps the team defensively. It also offers speed control through Scary Face.

About Grimmsnarl's Moves

Spirit Break is good against opposing special attackers, reducing their offensive power on the special side. Grimmsnarl's naturally high Attack stat lets it to 2HKO opposing Grimmsnarls.

The most important contribution of defensive Grimmsnarl to the team are its Dual Screens. Light Screen reduces damage from special attacks, while Reflect reduces damage from physical attacks. We run Scary Face over Thunder Wave so that we can reduce the speed of Electric-types. However, Thunder Wave is also a decent option for this set.

About Grimmsnarl's EV Spread

Maximizing EV investment into HP and Defense, plus an Impish Nature, lets Grimmsnarl be as physically defensive as possible. The remaining 4 EV's are then alotted into Special Defense.

About Grimmsnarl's Ability

Prankster gives Grimmsnarl's status moves increased priority. This is an extremely valuable Ability for a support Pokemon to have.

About Grimmsnarl's Held Item

All of Grimmsnarl's teammates enjoy screens support, and Light Clay allows Grimmsnarl's screens to last longer, making it so Grimmsnarl's teammates can enjoy effect throughout most of the game.

Anti-Sun Zapdos

Zapdos - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Zapdos
Nature	Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Def 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 197 / Def 106 / Sp. Atk 145 / Sp. Def 110 / Spe 167
Ability	Static
Held Item	Safety Goggles
Moveset	・Thunderbolt ・Hurricane ・Eerie Impulse ・Roost

Zapdos serves as an answer to Sun teams, matching up favorably against Charizard and Venusaur who Zapdos threatens with its STAB moves.

About Zapdos's Moves

Zapdos is able to threaten Flying and Grass types like Charizard and Venusaur with Thunderbolt and Hurricane respectively. Additionally, Zapdos can use Eerie Impulse unto the duo, being able to outspeed Charizard and being able to safely tank hits from Venusaur.

Against a Groudon who can threaten Zapdos with Rock Slide, a well timed Roost can preserve Zapdos in a match. Zapdos will not fare so nicely against Groudon if it successfully sets up Swords Dance though, so it is still important to properly assess threats in a match.

About Zapdos's EV Spread

This EV spread maximizes Zapdos' HP and Speed. It is important to keep Zapdos as bulky as possible, and with its Timid nature, being as quick as possible. Its decent Special Attack stat allows it to still threaten Pokemon that it can hit for super-effective, however it should not be treated as a Sweeper because it is not EV'd as such.

About Zapdos's Ability

Zapdos's Static Ability lets it paralyze opponents upon contact. While not always consistent, the occasional paralysis is helpful and optimal compared to its other Ability, Pressure. Static is especially good against multi-hitting contact moves such as Rapid Strike Urshifu's Surging Strikes.

About Zapdos's Held Item

Safety Goggles protects Zapdos from being put to sleep by Sleep Powder from Venusaur or from Amoonguss' Spore. It also protects Zapdos from being redirected by Rage Powder. Safety Goggles can also work to protect Zapdos from the incremental damage from Sandstorm and Hail.

Support Incineroar

Incineroar - Best Build for Ranked Battle

Moveset & Best Build for Incineroar
Nature	Careful (+Sp.Def, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Def 116 / Sp. Def 140
Final Stat Values	HP 202 / Atk 135 / Def 116 / Sp. Def 140 / Spe 80
Ability	Intimidate
Held Item	Chople Berry
Moveset	・Flare Blitz ・Taunt ・Parting Shot ・Fake Out

Incineroar is always widely used in any format that it is legal in. Its moves and held item are highly customizable, so tailoring this reliable cat to fit your team is rarely a difficult task.

About Incineroar's Moves

Even without Attack EV investment, Flare Blitz is a very good STAB move for Incineroar to have, often dealing huge chunks of damage to Pokemon that are weak to Fire. Most importantly, it can freely attack into Zacians, especially if they do not run Sacred Sword.

Taunt is great for shutting down Pokemon who would want to set up by boosting their stats with something like Swords Dance or an opponent using Trick Room.

Parting Shot reduces an opposing Pokemon's offensive stats by putting both their Attack and Special Attack at -1.

Lastly, Fake Out is an excellent attack in Doubles because it can either allow a teammate to set up or prevent a faster Pokemon from attacking. This priority move is also great for breaking Focus Sashes and for scouting Eject Button strategies.

About Incineroar's EV Spread

We maximize Incineroar's HP stat so that it has more health points to work with, enabling it to better fulfill its role as a defensive support Pokemon. Defense and Special Defense EV's are then split up, with more emphasis on Special Defense because Incineroar's Intimidate already works to reduce an opposing Pokemon's physical Attack stat.

About Incineroar's Ability

One of the things that make it so useful is its ability to cycle debuffs with Intimidate. This works in conjunction with Parting Shot, making Incineroar very valuable for stalling out Dynamax turns or just neutralizing threats on your opponent's side of the field.

Incineroar can safely switch into resisted physical attacks like Zacian's Behemoth Blade, reducing its damage output in the process with Intimidate.

About Incineroar's Held Item

Incineroar can take a super-effective hit thanks to Chople Berry. This reduces the damage of super-effective Fighting-type attacks, Most notably, a Sacred Sword from Zacian.

Team Strategies

Synergies and Common Pairs

Offensive
Grimmsnarl	Zacian

Go on the Offense with Zacian, while Grimmsnarl Supports

A very offensive lead. Grimmsnarl sets up Screens to make itself and Zacian extra bulky, while Zacian immediately goes on the offensive. Setting up a Substitute is a great move if expecting a passive turn from your opponent.

It is recommended to have Kyogre or Seismitoad in the back of your team ready to switch into a Fire-type move intended for Zacian, preserving Zacian for a late-game sweep.

Anti-Sun
Zapdos	Grimmsnarl

Lead Zapdos and Grimmsnarl VS Sun Teams

Zapdos pairs very well with Grimmsnarl, being a very defensive duo. Against the sun matchup, Grimmsnarl can use either Reflect or Light Screen depending on what your opponent has on the field. Scary Face is great for reducing the speed on speedy foes like Venusaur in sun, which Kyogre or Seismitoad would not want to go up against.

Protecting Zapdos from a Rock-type attack can be done by switching it for Incineroar, getting a free Intimidate on the opposing Pokemon.

Defensive
Grimmsnarl	Incineroar

Play Defensively with Grimmsnarl and Incineroar

The team's most passive lead option, the duo of Grimmsnarl and Incineroar excels at mitigating damage from an opponent's early offense. Grimmsnarl setting up an appropriate Screen while Incineroar pivots out with Parting Shot can often gain you an advantage. Incineroar having Taunt is good against Trick Room leads if they are not running Mental Herb. An interesting play to make against a Pokemon with Magic Bounce is by using Parting Shot on it, forcing them to switch out.

This duo is great at variance control because of their inherent bulk and defensive options.

Rain
Seismitoad	Incineroar

Go on the Offensive with Seismitoad

Leading with Seismitoad and Incineroar is a good option for this team.
Incineroar is able to debuff physical attackers with Intimidate, and threaten Grass-types with a powerful Flare Blitz. It can also hard switch into Kyogre and set up Rain for Seismitoad and activate its Swift Swim.

Alternatively, Seismitoad can switch out into Zacian if it is under threat of a Grass-type move, while Incineroar Parting Shots a Pokemon that can do harm to Zacian.

Kyogre and Zacian make for a solid back end to this team, because the two restricted Pokemon are naturally synergistic and are good switch-ins for our Seismitoad and Incineroar leads.

Sword Fish
Zacian	Kyogre

Best Restricted Pair: Sword Fish

Affectionately called 'Sword Fish', the most popular restricted pair for Series 12 are Zacian and Kyogre. And for good reason. They are a high-synergy pair. Teams built around these two do not require complex strategies, and these teams are usually easy to pilot.

Zacian is checked by opposing Groudon or Incineroar and Kyogre can handily Water Spout into them.

Kyogre is walled by Palkia but it won't appreciate eating a Play Rough from Zacian.

This restricted pair is so reliable together, that the other four Pokemon accompanying them are highly customizable.

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